Thursday, November 08, 2007

There have always been much criticism towards animal shelters and the animals in animal shelters. This post is to help separate fact from myth so that people will have a more compassionate understanding towards animals in animal shelters that are in desperate need of finding a good home.

Myth: Shelter pets are obviously not good pets, or else their original owners wouldn't have gotten rid of themIf the main reason why a pet gets brought to rescue shelters was because they were a *bad* pet, there would be thousands of empty shelters across the country. Animals are brought to shelters for a large variety of reasons, some of which are...

*Their owners have passed away*The animal's owners were abusive to the animal, so the authorities have removed the pet from the harmful environment*An animal was purchased or adopted by someone who did not take into consideration all of the responsibility that caring for that pet would entail. A good example of this would be someone who adopts a pet in an apartment complex that does not allow animals and then is subsequently forced to get rid of the pet.Myth: Animals from abusive homes will never be good pets because they have been mistreated for so longMost animals coming from abusive homes will typically make a full emotional recovery - with proper care and attention. In fact, many of them are so grateful to be rescued from their previous situation, they end up being more devoted and loyal than animals coming from non-abusive homes.Myth:You never know what you're getting with shelter petsAlthough its true that the medical history and temperament of an animal adopted from a rescue shelter are not always able to be tracked down, its really no different than an animal you might get from a pet store, unless you are buying a pedigree, but most animals from pet stores are from Puppy Mills and are more sickly due to unsanitary conditions and repeated inbreeding which causes genetic birth defects and/or severe health problems.

Myth: All animals in rescue shelters are sickly or unhealthyOnce again, it certainly IS possible that a pet adopted from a rescue shelter may have medical problems, however the majority of the animals that are adopted from shelters are perfectly healthy, and just need a good home. If anything, you're more likely to get an honest answer about an animal's medical problems from a shelter volunteer - who is clearly there because they *care* about the animals - as opposed to a pet store owner or breeder that is only it in for the money. Additionally, animals in shelters are typically treated much better than animals in pet stores, which have often spent their short lives in cramped environments with little socializing and often, unsanitary conditions.

To illustrate the point a little more clearly, when you go to a pet store, the animals are kept on display in tiny cages, often with multiple animals in one cage. When you go to a shelter, you will usually find much bigger animal pens, where the animals have some room to move.

Please adopt a sheltered animal or encourage others to adopt. These animals need a good home. Please give them the chance to find one.

Please go to my website to get a list of local sheltersADOPT, DON'T SHOP!!

Thursday, November 01, 2007

With a very heavy heart I must inform you all that Lincoln passed away Monday, after a valiant battle against a litany of medical issues, including heart worms and osteosarcoma.

For those of you that don't know about Lincoln,he was an amazingly strong, soulful, tenacious creature, that came into my life about 6 months ago.

Although our time together was brief, I experienced a powerful connection to this dog, unlike any other. I would not give this experience up for the world. Lincoln certainly taught me a thing or two........

He was found covered in fleas, with speaker wire around his neck, severely emaciated. He had been waiting to be rescued...6 years later his dream would come true. He met three people that welcomed him with open arms, and did everything humanly possible to make sure he lived his final years knowing love,friendship, a nice place to sleep, good food, and clean water.

Unfortunately, the rest of his life was 6 months..First came the heart worms, then the limp..that turned out to be cancer. We had the leg removed, but you would never know it was missing..the day after the amputation he was running around like a warrior. The biopsy came back negative in the lymph nodes..we were ecstatic. We just knew Lincoln would beat the odds of the 1 year life expectancy.... Then..three days after the amputation, his back legs started sliding around, we think he probably hurt himself running around with the other pups, trying to keep up with them. Finally, he wentdown..and stayed. He went through acupuncture treatment for a week before being referred to Dr. Chauvet, a Neuro Vet, we thought possibly a slipped disk, and trust me, we had every intention of having the back surgery. I mean come on, surely he didn't go through all of this in vain?

Dr. Chauvet took another x-ray and confirmed our worst fear...the cancer had spread to his lungs. We were devastated to say the least. How cruel..to put this dog through all of this trauma, did I mention the neuter..:) just to lose him a couple of months later.

I, Derek, and Beth decided we had to do the right thing.We could not let him live like this...zero use of the back legs,and the cancer gaining on him.

Monday October 29Th around 5:30 P.M. we said goodbye to our Lincoln. He still had a sparkle in his eye until his last breath...I could go on for days about Lincoln's brilliance and strong will to live, but I'm getting misty.

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Gimme Shelter Pet Adoption is a 501(c) 3 non-profit, charitable organization founded in 2005. We are a completely volunteer run organization whose purpose is to rescue animals out of overcrowded shelters where they are at risk for disease and euthanasia. The animals are fostered in volunteer foster homes where we can keep them loved, healthy, and socialized until they can be placed in permanent, loving homes.